Our Leadership

As the state’s flagship university, we are governed by a board of trustees appointed
by the governor and state lawmakers. President Harris Pastides has guided our university
and the USC system since 2008.

Our president serves as the top officer for the Columbia campus and for the entire
USC system. President Harris Pastides was dean of the Arnold School of Public Health
before becoming president in 2008.

Our board is made up of the governor, the state education superintendent, 16 members
appointed by state lawmakers from each of the state’s judicial circuits and the president
of the Alumni Association. The governor has an appointee and usually designates someone
to fill the governor’s seat on the board.